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Letter to the Editor by Peter Rimbos The Third Runway: WE MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH FLIGHTS TO KEEP TWO BUSY. From the Wednesday, August 28, 2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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I was heartened to read James Alls' letter regarding the third runway (Aug. 18, "Given today's realities, we really don't need it"). He brings up some excellent points. However, his last point on changes in the airline industry hasn't really been pushed enough in an effort to stop this incredible boondoggle. The Bush administration continually says everything changed after 9/11. Although I feel this is a ploy to take away many of our freedoms, it is correct when it comes to air travel in this country. I believe we might never see passenger-mile and seat-mile numbers as high as they were sometime before 9/11 (there already was a drop-off due to the recession), let alone the higher projections everyone was making in the late '90s. With business travel drastically cut, the airlines are in a tailspin.
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As businesses further try to optimize their operations and cut costs wherever they can, there will be far more video-teleconferencing, Internet phone conferences, e-mailing, plain old phone calls, not more business travel! Unless a business must actually need to "touch something" or "press the flesh," it won't be spending dollars to send one of its most precious resources -- people -- on trips that are getting longer, not shorter, due to various security concerns. Due to this apparent permanent reduction in air travel need, not only will we not require the third runway, but SeaTac Airport won't be using its existing two runways to capacity in the near or distant future. I believe this severely reduced need, along with the third runway project's ever increasing costs and the environmental destruction it will cause, are more than enough reasons to put a stop to this boondoggle now! Peter Rimbos, Maple Valley |